Samuel F. Sears, Jr., PhD

Professor
Cardiac psychology; patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators; cardiac rehabilitation

Office (Rawl 132): 252-328-6118
Clinical Referrals: 252-744-4400
Fax: 252-328-6283
Email: searss@ecu.edu
Lab Webpage:
https://sites.ecu.edu/sears-lab/
Mailing Address
104 Rawl Building
Department of Psychology
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353

Willing to consider taking a doctoral student in 2025-26

  • Yes

Education

  • PhD, Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida (1995)
  • MS, Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida (1992)
  • BS, Psychology, University of Florida (1990)

Research Interests

Dr. Sears is currently engaged in research projects at East Carolina University and at other prominent research institutions around the US and world including:

  • Patient Experience and Quality of Life in Cardiac Clinical Trials
  • Activity Assessment via Accelerometers in Cardiac Devices and Wearables
  • The Psychological and Behavioral Factors in Atrial Fibrillation
  • Evaluation of Novel Technologies in Cardiology
  • Measurement and Treatment of ICD Patient Shock Anxiety Professional Work

Professional Work

  • Internationally recognized expert in cardiac psychology.
  • Dr. Sears has published over 200 articles in the medicine and psychology research literatures and has well over 13, 000 citations (h-index =59) Google Scholar.
  • Dr. Sears was recently named as the 12th all-time scientific contributor to research related to the implantable cardioverter defibrillator and 49th all-time related to cardiac electrophysiology by ScholarGPS in 2024.
  • In 2021, Expertscape.com named Dr. Sears one of the top 50 experts/ prolific authors in the world on implantable defibrillators over the last 10 years amongst the 27,847 authors on the topic.
  • Dr. Sears was awarded the O. Max Gardner Award in 2013. This annual award is given by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina system to the faculty member who “has made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race” in the past year. The award is considered the highest honor bestowed to a faculty member in the UNC system.
  • Dr. Sears continues to practice and teach health psychology in cardiology clinics at the East Carolina Heart Institute at East Carolina University since 2007. 
  • Dr. Sears serves as Division Chief, Innovation and Research at the East Carolina Heart Institute.

Publications

Click here for a list of publications.

Full Curriculum Vitae (PDF) >

For more information about Dr. Sears’s work